Tuesday, February 19, 2019

THE GLEANER, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | SPORTS

B2

Janielle Josephs overcoming doubt CHASING CHAMPS studies, geography, sociology, and environmental science. I think I like geography sometimes, and environmental science because I think my teacher is nice and encourages me to like the subject more. Do you have any other interest or hobbies outside of track and field?

S T ANDREW High School for Girls’ Janielle Josephs continues to rise to the occasion since her commendable performance in the Class One 400m at last year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs). ‘Driven’, ‘dedicated’ and ‘determined’ are some of the adjectives that embody this student athlete. Described by her friends as reserved, yet witty, she has ambitious goals to represent Jamaica once again this year on a global platform. She gave The Gleaner an exclusive interview to discover the personality behind the performance. Why did you start doing track and field? Well, I think there are two stories to this. For me, initially, back in prep school, I wanted to miss school, but for my mother, a teacher sawme running and saw the talent and encouraged her to put me in tracks. Why did you want to specialise in this event in particular? I don’t know. I felt like 400m is a little different because I realised that it is the man with the best strategy and who can execute it properly. So I think it is different, and not many people realise that and can master it. What would you consider your greatest achievement so far? I think my greatest achievement would be CARIFTA and World Juniors. CARIFTA was my first (national) team. I had been trying for so long, and I went and came third in the 400m. To make aWorld Juniors team, that is the highest level you can reach as a junior, so I am very proud to reach that far. Whatwouldyou consider your greatest challenge? Well, I think my greatest challenge is believing in myself sometimes. I think I’ve struggled with that over the years; like, I don’t see my talent. People always tell me, but I don’t see it. How did you overcome this challenge? My coach, my mother, my teammates motivate me and tell me that I am talented and I am a star. Now I believe it more since I see myself improving in high- school track and field, because honestly, I didn’t think I would ever make it back in Class Four when I just started. What are the personal goals that you have set for this season? This season, I just want to run better than last year, make another national team or two, and, again, hopefully, I will be on the podium at Champs. What subjects do you do in high school, andwhich is your favourite? Well, right now, in upper sixth [form], I do Caribbean

So, my other hobby would be dancing. I like to dance, but I can’t dance. Other than that, if I am not dancing, I am probably listening to music or reading. What do you like to read? I think right now, I fall in the young-adult category, or romance. Who is your favourite artiste, and which of their songs is your favourite? My favourite artiste right now, even though he is not an English singer, but a Spanish singer, is Ozuna. I really like his voice; it’s just smooth. The music, the beat, everything, it is just great. Right now, I think I like Devuélveme . Whichathlete is your greatest inspiration, andwhy? Wayde van Niekerk. Well, I think that run that he did at the Rio Olympics out of lane eight, that was a world record tome. That was such a stellar run. It was beautiful and from then, he has been my favourite athlete. What qualities do you possess that enable you to be successful? My determination. Sometimes people try to put me down, but I try to rise above that and stay determined to do my best always. How do you balance your athletic life and academic studies? To be honest, it gets hard sometimes. The work keeps piling up, and I have training, but I try to do the work in a timely manner, most of the time, to get everything done. You know, I am training every day, so I try to do the work when I go home or sometimes in my free sessions. Who has supported you during this time, and what has been their impact on you? I would say that my biggest supporters aremymother and my coach. They made me a better person, made me believe in myself and want to achieve more. What advice do you have for students who want to achieve the same level of success? I would want to encourage you to keep doing your best. Stick to it. Sometimes it may not start out how you want it to, but it is just the determination to keep going. Just do your best, and that will take you places.

Contributed by David Salmon.

Persons competing in the 21st staging of the Sagicor SIGMA Corporate Run on Sunday. The event had a record 27,000 participants. IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPHER

THE WRIGHT VIEW

AEDs, PPEs no joking matter!

minister will accept the suggestion of The Gleaner ’s editorial, those numbers would decrease. Also on Sunday, word came that Kemoy Campbell, who collapsed during the Millrose Games on February 9 and had his life saved by an automated external defibrillator (AED), was out of the Intensive Care Unit at hospital, walking, and conversing and may be discharged by the end of the week! The ambulances at the race had AEDs, and one was available in the medical tent at the finish line. Good news.What was particularly troublingwas the unofficial word frompractitioners that not every hospital in Jamaica has an AED available for use if a patient, worker or visitor suffers a cardiac event that needs the use of this essential piece of equipment. CASTER SEMENYA DEBATE Yesterday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport began to hear arguments that will have a profound effect on the future of World and Olympic 800mchampion Caster Semenya. The IAAF will argue that because of her naturally produced testosterone levels, which are far in excess of those seen

athletes a high-quality pre participation examination (PPE), which would go a long way in limiting, but not excluding, the tragedy of death while participating in sports. The Sagicor SIGMA Corporate Run startedon time, and, at the end, themedical tent situated at the end of the chute near the finish line had seen and treated 57 participants withmedical problems and 15 with injuries that required the services of themany physiotherapists stationed there. On the medical side, two runners had to be transferred to hospital – one with an obvious fracture of his right tibia, and one with signs of an acute abdomen that may need surgical intervention. The other medical problems ranged from chest pain, asthma, headaches, nausea and stomach pains to the usual sprains and strains. One participant at the finish line complained of tiredness. Examination on the spot revealed an abnormal heart rate, but the runner explained that her doctor had diagnosed her with an exercise-induced arrhythmia, that would settle with rest. It did. But that and the paucity of medical interventions

in other women competing in track and field, Ms Semenya has an unfair advantage when competing against women with lower testosterone levels. Their argument is based on the medical fact that her high and unusual testosterone levels increase muscle size and strength, and also increase haemoglobin levels during puberty. This fact is what makes men have a huge performance advantage (PW1) over women. To counter this (unfair) advantage, the IAAF suggests that any woman with this condition should undergo medical treatment designed to reduce her testosterone levels for a continuous period of six months before being eligible to compete, as before, over distances that the IAAF have evidence that a high testosterone level does in fact result in an unfair advantage – 400m to a mile. The South African government and Semenya’s legal team will argue that she has no control over her hormone levels recorded by tests. As Semenya has asserted, “I am a woman, and I run fast.” The decision of the court will have a profound effect on the future of a level playing field in sports.

in an event with more than 27,000 participants, PLUS an equal number of onlookers, is amazing. The preliminary figure of 72 (minus those treated en route by medical and ambulance crews strategically placed on the course) must rate as some sort of record. If only the that needs the use of this essential piece of equipment.’ ‘What was particularly troubling was the unofficial word from practitioners that not every hospital in Jamaica has an AED available for use if a patient, worker or visitor suffers a cardiac event

THE EDITORIAL in The Sunday Gleaner : ‘Five years after Cavahn McKenzie’, was very timely as it coincided with the staging of the biggest road race in the English- speaking Caribbean, the 21st staging of the Sagicor SIGMA Corporate Run. The race at Emancipation Park in Kingston attracted more than 27,000 participants and featured the old, the young, the fit and unfit, the able and disabled, the overweight and the underweight, and the rich and the poor. As the editorial stated, sports have been under the microscope following a series of tragedies that have occurred in different sports. The editorial suggests that the minister of sport, the Honourable Olivia ‘Babsy’Grange initiate a programme that would make available to ALL high-school